# Esoterica Penzance



## DrStrangelove

*Re: Pipe Tobacco Reviews*

*Estoerica Tobacciana - Penzance*

Let me go ahead and say this is a very complex tobacco and you'll have to excuse me if I misidentify any of the flavors.

I first smoked some of this baccy a while ago when Croatan sent me a sample of it. I liked it alot then but didn't really put much thought to it. Today I was at a local B&M and picked up a tin.

Penzance comes in a small rectangular tin which is plainly labled. Immediately I thought to myself, how the hell can they fit so much tobacco into such a little tin? I got home poped it open and immidiately saw how. The tobacco is crumble cake, but not like C & D crumble cake. Just imagine a whole bunch of flakes pressed together into a tobacco brick. This tobacco brick is wrapped in wax paper (a nice touch), and has a really pleasant semi-sweet English smell. The tobacco breaks down easy, you can practically rub some off of the top, no problem.

I've smoked two bowls of it today, what a great flavor! I'd say this tobacco is medium bodied but with a very deep flavor and creamy texture. The Latakia is delicious and smokey and the Oriental Tobacco has a really unique flavor, it sort of reminded me of light soy sauce without the saltiness or the sharp fermented soy bean flavor (I know that didn't make any sense, but its really good). Occaisionally the Virginia peaks it's head through and you catch a delicious sweet note. Whatever virginia they use to mix this tobacco I would be happy to smoke on its own.

This tobacco smokes very dry and cool right out of the tin. I'm a habitual over puffer and the smoke remained cool and flavorful. When I made myself slow down (usually the flavor of singed tongue makes me do it), I picked up even more complexities. The nicoteine buzz was present, but not substantial.

This is a brilliant English blend. It might not be something everyone would want to smoke everyday/all day, but this will definately become more of a staple in my smoking rotation. Give this one a try, it's complex, delicious, cool smoking... it's great!


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## IHT

*Esoterica's Penzance*

well, my SPS sent me what was on my wish list, and this was my most highly sought after tobacco that i had yet to try.

today, i tried it.

not a "formal" sit down, smoke and type, type of review... just a brief review.

Penzance is one of the most highly rated tobacco's out there, which is why i wanted to give it a whirl. i did not know that it was a "flake" tobacco, and that would have semi-scared me off.

having never packed a bowl w/flake tobacco, i was a little skeptical at how i'd do, but since ScottM posted a link on how to pack flake tobacco, i realized that the author knew types like me. i am just like the ppl he describes that are scared off.

the article shows how to pack your pipe w/flake tobacco, and i tried to do it that way instead of hand rubbing it. the article also shows it being done with larger flakes from the MacBaren line.

the Penzance was a lot smaller, and didn't just fold like the article shows, not to mention it was still pretty darn moist in comparison to many english loose cut blends. as i tried to "fold" it, it simply broke apart and i thought, "fug it, time to rub it out." so, i only took 2 flakes and broke 'em apart, then filled my bowl a little past halfway.

like the article stated, was hard to get started, but didn't stop once it was going.

smoked cool, minimal tongue bite. i don't recall what tobaccos are in there, but it has a minty type of spice on the finish. most tobaccos i smoke don't change as they're smoked, but i found this one changed about halfway through the little bit i packed into the bowl.

it's been a good 20+ minutes, and i can still taste the spice. very nice and smooth smoke.

i would easily recommend this, and the article ScottM linked for us has now kept me from shying away from flake style tobacco's. i might have to look up some more to give a whirl.


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## croatan

*Re: Esoterica's Penzance*

Glad you're enjoying it so far, Greg. Penzance is one of my favorite tobaccos and, honestly, I like that it's a flake. I enjoy playing with the consistency of the flake tobacco because it allows you to pack the bowl just the way you want it and control the burn a little better than most tobaccos (or at least that's the way it seems to me ).


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## brado

*Re: Esoterica's Penzance*



croatan said:


> Glad you're enjoying it so far, Greg. Penzance is one of my favorite tobaccos and, honestly, I like that it's a flake. I enjoy playing with the consistency of the flake tobacco because it allows you to pack the bowl just the way you want it and control the burn a little better than most tobaccos (or at least that's the way it seems to me ).


Gotta tell ya, Because people on the list were talking about Penzance I went and bought a tin today. I paid twice as much for it as I had for blends from the store I go to. I took it home and loaded up a bowl....and regretted it from the beginning. It had a "funky" smell. But I thought this would go away when I lit it up. No, instead it turned into a "funky" taste in my mouth. I tried to enjoy. I really did! But about half way through I had to get rid of it. But then, I couldn't get that chemical, almost vomit-like taste out of my mouth. I went to ANOTHER tobaccinist and got 2 oz of a blend they had, called "IQ". THAT helped to get the taste out my mouth. Very good, and it only cost 2.50/oz, as opposed to 6.50/oz for the Penzance.

Sorry. I HATED it.


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## mr.c

*Re: Pipe Tobacco Reviews*

I smoked penzance after smoking a couple bowls of vanilla cream. almost puked.

Love the stuff though, just learned not to mix bacckys lol


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## IHT

*Re: Esoterica's Penzance*



brado said:


> Gotta tell ya, Because people on the list were talking about Penzance I went and bought a tin today. I paid twice as much for it as I had for blends from the store I go to. I took it home and loaded up a bowl....and regretted it from the beginning. It had a "funky" smell. But I thought this would go away when I lit it up. No, instead it turned into a "funky" taste in my mouth. I tried to enjoy. I really did! But about half way through I had to get rid of it. But then, I couldn't get that chemical, almost vomit-like taste out of my mouth. I went to ANOTHER tobaccinist and got 2 oz of a blend they had, called "IQ". THAT helped to get the taste out my mouth. Very good, and it only cost 2.50/oz, as opposed to 6.50/oz for the Penzance.
> 
> Sorry. I HATED it.


not all tobaccos are for everyone. i love it, and i love that "funky" flavor i get from som Samuel Gawith flakes (like Bracken Flake)....

what tobaccos are you use to? do you normally smoke store bought blends? are they aromatic, etc, etc? <--- usual questions.

when i was new, i smoked aromatics and couldn't understand how someone would smoke an "english" blend... now i'm pretty much reversed on that.
--------

finally cracked my tin of "Squadron Leader".... 
mild is an understatement. so far, after one half bowl 15 minutes after opening the tin, it's not something i'd buy again. it wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything. smooth, yep. packed well, yep. lit alright (for being moist), yep. looked like quality tobacco cut very well, yep. flavor, eh... there's some there.


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## brado

*Re: Pipe Tobacco Reviews*

I have been smoking store blends from my local. I just bought some "IQ" which smells great, but is milder than I thought it would be. I bought a Latakia blend form the store that was pretty good also. And, yes, they are all aromatic blends. Right now, that's what i like. Maybe I'll change someday. When I first started smoking cigars, I only smoked ACID's. Now, however, I like many different kinds of stogies.


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## volfan

*Re: Pipe Tobacco Reviews*

I tried Penzance as my first bowl ever in a pipe and it was a little funky and different. It reminded me of that smell coming off of a smoker when it has 10-15 beef briskets cooking. I am set to try some other things to see if I like the pipe or not.

scottie


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## caskwith

Penzance is one of my absolute favs, also ages extremely well. I was lucky enough to be gifted a tin from '99, and i can tell you if you thought fresh was good, the mellow sweetness of aged is even better. Personally i love flake tobacco and normally smoke whole or lightly broken up rather than rubbed out. 

Penzance is quite simply one of the best out there.

Great reviews guys.


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## IHT

caskwith said:


> Personally i love flake tobacco and normally smoke whole or lightly broken up rather than rubbed out.


hard to rub that stuff out. this flake is what i consider "crumble cake". i know there's definitions of it out there somewhere... i an't lookin for it though.
it's good stuff, that's for sure. when i tried to rub it out, it just fell apart into chunks. i quickly learned to get out some sharp scissors, cut the "flake" into thirds (across, not lengthwise), then gently crumbled 'em up and stuffed the pipe.
it's been so long, i've forgotten how good it is. i have 1 tin left and want it to age... like that's ever going to happen.


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## caskwith

IHT said:


> hard to rub that stuff out. this flake is what i consider "crumble cake". i know there's definitions of it out there somewhere... i an't lookin for it though.
> it's good stuff, that's for sure. when i tried to rub it out, it just fell apart into chunks. i quickly learned to get out some sharp scissors, cut the "flake" into thirds (across, not lengthwise), then gently crumbled 'em up and stuffed the pipe.
> it's been so long, i've forgotten how good it is. i have 1 tin left and want it to age... like that's ever going to happen.


Your certainly right about this stuff, if you tried to rub it out as you might Dunhill light flake (a long ribbon cut flake for those who dont know) then it would just make a pile of dust. My persoanl method for penzance is to take a flake and break it into 6 peices with my fingers, i then stuff 5 of these into a small bowled pipe (i have a small Dr Grabow Duke which smokes this stuff perfectly) the final peice is crumbled on top to make a bit of tinder to help with lighting. Other flakes i like are 1792 (in moderation, and only after stoving) Dunhill Light flake, Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye flake, Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake, and of course Christmas Cheer. As these are all ribbon cut flakes i usually take the flake and tear it up into a few peices before stuffing into the bowl. For bullseye i have a special packing technique but it is too long winded to explain here, lol.


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## IHT

caskwith said:


> ..... Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye flake, Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake, and of course Christmas Cheer. As these are all ribbon cut flakes i usually take the flake and tear it up into a few peices before stuffing into the bowl. For bullseye i have a special packing technique but it is too long winded to explain here, lol.


ironic, i just sent someone a PM talking about splitting some Bullseye Flake, Luxury Navy Flake.... lol...

please explain how you pack the bullseye coins, i want to know. i assume they're similar to Escudo "coins/curly cut". i fold mine in half then gently rub 'em out.


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## caskwith

IHT said:


> ironic, i just sent someone a PM talking about splitting some Bullseye Flake, Luxury Navy Flake.... lol...
> 
> please explain how you pack the bullseye coins, i want to know. i assume they're similar to Escudo "coins/curly cut". i fold mine in half then gently rub 'em out.


Ok then Greg, just for you 

basically i sort of push it out into rings, much like you would with an onion. I then pack a layer of Va in the bottom, the cavendish goes in the centre and then more Va on top, with some crumbled for tinder. This means that when i smoke i get the flavour of the Va and spiciness of the perique, followed by a sweetness hit in the centre from the cavendish. Then once more onto the VaPer at the bottom. i find this makes for a very interesting smoke that keeps changing flavour. Much more fun that simply rubbing out and packing.

hope that helps greg


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## IHT

you're like the owl in the "tootsie roll pop" comercials over here... how many licks til you get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?


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## caskwith

IHT said:


> you're like the owl in the "tootsie roll pop" comercials over here... how many licks til you get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?


Lol, thanks (i think  )

try the method when you get some bullseye, i think you'll like it, i love the stuff. Let me know how you get on.


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## EvanS

*Re: Pipe Tobacco Reviews*



volfan said:


> I tried Penzance as my first bowl ever in a pipe and it was a little funky and different. It reminded me of that smell coming off of a smoker when it has 10-15 beef briskets cooking. I am set to try some other things to see if I like the pipe or not.
> 
> scottie


funny how folks will taste things differently, and I notice that I myself am developing different tastes as well as noticing how especially tinned tobacco can change after it is open for a bit.
I tried Penzance 1st time about 3 weeks ago and my first thought was "yuk, orange rind and overcooked liver....not cool". But now I have had my 2nd and 3rd bowls of it this weekend and am enjoying it pretty well. Be interesting to see if I end up liking it well enough to pay for it again though. So far I would take any number of McClelland bulks (2020, 2015, 5110) over Penzance. But I did like it. Now I'm not comparing McC and Penzance...just my obsevations. In fact I already am pretty sure that I will not buy and smoke this on a reular basis...but I may buy a few tins to cellar and open them at five year intervals.

Now on the other hand I also tried my first chunks of Esoterica Stonehaven this weekend. Now THAT has some funk to it. By the smell I figured I'd love it but truth is I smoked 1/3 bowl, picked it up again 4 hours later for another 1/3 and finally scraped it out. Tasted like beef jerky soaked in watered down cheap scotch with more than just a hint of the oooold kilbasa grease from the bottom of the BBQ thrown in for good measure. :BS Yep, looking forward to trying that again :r .

we'll see......


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## TimB

*Re: Pipe Tobacco Reviews*

Penzance is my absolute favorite. I haven't been smoking a pipe that long, but I keep coming back to Esoterica. I bought a tin of Margate a couple weeks back and I'm in love with that too (Margate is Panzance in ribbon form).

I won't get long winded on the flavor profile here, there are tons of reviews and detailed descriptions here:

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend_detail.cfm?ALPHA=P&TID=498

I will say every bowl is completely satisfying, rich and creamy. It is like nothing I have ever smoked (in a pipe or a cigar)


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## Mister Moo

Penzance is, to me, the pipe tobacco equivalent of a rich, aged maduro cigar with some plume showing. I like the funky depth and smoke-house nature of the blend as much as anything I've smoked that wasn't discontinued in 1996.

Noons call on the $35 Tsuge stacked billiard for Pe'z was a good one; it takes two flakes, gently twisted into the chamber, just right.


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## Hoplophile

Penzance and Margate are my go-to English blends. p


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## Fumioso

Just smoked my first bowl of Penzance and I have to say it's one of my favorites ever. I like English blends, but this one smokes so smooth and so rich that if I had discovered this five years ago I might not have ever picked up a cigar. (Which would have been a tragedy, but now I can enjoy the best of both worlds!) 

I can't be equivocal about this tobacco. Lovely leathery gently spicy perfection. Wow. I was planning on an LFD torpedo tonight, but ran short of time and thought I'd try this pipe baccy instead. I'm VERY glad I did.

:tu :tu


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## Foz

I have to join in the chorus and say Penzance is quickly becoming one of my favorites as well


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## TimB

If you guys like Penzance (which I love) try Compton's Macedonian - it is rich and fantastic as well


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## EvanS

Mister Moo said:


> Penzance is, to me, the pipe tobacco equivalent of a rich, aged maduro cigar with some plume showing. I like the funky depth and smoke-house nature of the blend as much as anything I've smoked that wasn't discontinued in 1996...


ok, ok - after getting my pipes broke in and getting my techniques down I am also on the Panzance bandwagon. VERY nice. And guess what? I actually like Stonehaven even better.

NOOBs shouldn't be allowed to comment on tobaccos for the first 3 months :r


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## ghostrider

I just smoked some of this last night. WOW. Looks like I may be stocking up on some extra tins to set aside for awhile. May not be an every day smoke, but definitely something I'll be keeping handy.


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## mudd

Penzance is one of my all time favorites. I just take the flakes and gentle push them into the bowl then sprinkle a little of the shake on top. I buy in bulk from smokingpipes.com

http://www.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/by-maker/esoterica/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=2197


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## TU09

I only started smoking pipes in November of last year but Penzance has had a constant place in my pipe. Still familiarizing myself but I feel I could be content with Penzance for a very long time.


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## fireman43

I just finished a small bowl of Penzance. It is my first bowl of what I would call real tobacco. Not the one dimensional aromatics from CVS I have been smoking. The smell upon opening it reminds me of spicy molasses. This smell brings back memories when I was a kid and went to the Dr. It smells like that Doctors office, and not in a bad way, but different if that makes any sense. Once I got it lit up, the taste is very similar to the way it smells. Not too sweet really, but like molasses with a little spicyness mixed in. The finish is slightly bitter to me, but still very good. I am just getting started, so I can't pick up on certain flavors or type of tobacco yet. It was good though, and I am sure I'll pick up another tin when I finish this one.


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## agony

So far in my very short pipe-smoking career, Penzance is my favorite. So much so that I threw out all of my half-filled pouches of cheap drug-store aromatics, and only want english blends from now on.

Penzance was my first true English. I picked up a tin of the Early Morning Pipe today at the local shop, and hope it's as tasty and complex as Penzance.

Any suggestions on other 'must-smoke' Englishes out there before I order only Penzance?


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## Alyks

This stuff is awesome! It's my favorite. I can't smoke it everyday, though. It overpowers my palate. I smoke it on special ocassions.

Thanks TimB. Will surely give Compton's a try.


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## mcdevster

Very delicious.. and creamy somehow.. One of my new favorites.. I would not recommend smoking it indoors though - it does leave behind quite an aroma that is very hard to get rid of despite its pleasant smell during the smoke..
I try to sneak outside and enjoy it at during the quiet nightime hours - it tastes good at that time for me - and you can avoid the crowds that way..


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## Alyks

Alyks said:


> This stuff is awesome! It's my favorite. I can't smoke it everyday, though. It overpowers my palate. I smoke it on special ocassions.


Interesting how tastes change in just a few short months. I cannot smoke any blend which has more than a hint of latakia now.


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## Samsonite

I just had my very first bowl of Penzance. I rubbed it out loosely because it was too crumbly to try the stuff method. I gravity fed the crumbles and then pressed down a bit.

I must say, I really enjoyed it. It stayed lit fairly well, had almost no tongue bite, and tasted great. Although I can't discern the nuances of tobaccos, as long as I enjoy what I'm smoking, I'm happy.

I do recommend it for anyone that is a fan of Englishes, despite my slim experience.


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## Mister Moo

Alyks said:


> Interesting how tastes change in just a few short months. I cannot smoke any blend which has more than a hint of latakia now.


Poor fellow. Send me your leftovers? p


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## paperairplane

Agreed Moo, I jumped on the Vaper wagon hard... have since moved to english/oriental. 

I have been thinking some 965 with my LNF might be the ticket.


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## Mister Moo

paperairplane said:


> Agreed Moo, I jumped on the Vaper wagon hard... have since moved to english/oriental.
> 
> I have been thinking some 965 with my LNF might be the ticket.


Penzance is one of the benchmark blends for me. Sweet, smokey, easy, a bulk bargain.


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## Senator

Mister Moo said:


> Penzance is one of the benchmark blends for me. Sweet, smokey, easy, a bulk bargain.


+1

I would add "creamy" and "smooth" to your description. Like a strong coffee with lots of cream. Yummy! :dr


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## pro2625

I bought a tin of penzance and love it! Very complex....In my top 3


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## GregoryD

My favorite pipe tobacco. Smoking it is like sipping a well aged Ashton Aged Maduro.

Also, it becomes much easier to detect cooked cigar wrappers after having smoked enough pipe tobacco with latakia in it. The flavors just SCREAM cooked sometimes. Rocky Patel Double Maduro cigars, I'm looking squarely at you.


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## petewho

reading this again, and now I can't wait to crack into my tin of Penzance! might be a while because I have two open tins of English going right now, and I seem to be on a VA/Per kick at the moment


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## Zeabed

I liked it so much when first introduced to it last month that I bought 12 tins (no bulk orders) so I can smoke it in the way I like it. It's like no other tobacco I've tried, and I've smoked a lot of English blends.


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## laney1566

My favorite tobacco to smoke, but the wife's least favorite to smell. Amazing how they create such a deep full flavor that smokes sooooo cooool!!


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## Zodduska

I'm still on the fence about Penzance.. I did get some interesting reactions from letting people smell the mason jar in which it lives, my girlfriend ran out of the room and a co-worker reeled back with a "woah" then commented that it smelled like an electrical fire. :target:


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## Mister Moo

Zodduska said:


> ...it smelled like an electrical fire. :target:


I always think creosote. It never tastes or produces a room note like creosote but it sure smells like it in the tin.


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## SmokinJohnny

A tin is en route via 4 noggins. From the Balkan like descriptions here, can hardly wait. A tin of Old Ironsides lasted 4 days.


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## blackcalx

After my first tin of Penzance I was ready to crown it my life-long favorite blend. The aroma in the tin, the greasy paper liner, the crumbling flakes and the way I could still taste it days later - it was heaven packed in briar. But something happened between that first tin and large package that replaced it. We had a falling-out, I guess, and it felt like something was missing. Perhaps it was because I was so used to Dunhill's Nightcap as my go-to English tobacco, or perhaps it was the pipe I chose to dedicate to Penzance, but to make a long story short I gave three quarters of my 8oz package of Penzance away and went back to Nightcap. 

Having tried Penzance some months later, along with a number of similar blends (Seattle Pipe Club's Plum Pudding, for example) I have been unable to recapture the thrill that the first tin gave me. I understand why people love it, I just wish I still could.


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## dmkerr

blackcalx said:


> After my first tin of Penzance I was ready to crown it my life-long favorite blend. The aroma in the tin, the greasy paper liner, the crumbling flakes and the way I could still taste it days later - it was heaven packed in briar. But something happened between that first tin and large package that replaced it. We had a falling-out, I guess, and it felt like something was missing. Perhaps it was because I was so used to Dunhill's Nightcap as my go-to English tobacco, or perhaps it was the pipe I chose to dedicate to Penzance, but to make a long story short I gave three quarters of my 8oz package of Penzance away and went back to Nightcap.
> 
> Having tried Penzance some months later, along with a number of similar blends (Seattle Pipe Club's Plum Pudding, for example) I have been unable to recapture the thrill that the first tin gave me. I understand why people love it, I just wish I still could.


Interesting.

A long time ago when Balkan Sobranie was as rare as dust mites under a bed, I had a tin of their Virginia #10 with cigar leaf, and I loved it. I gave out enough for a pipeful to several people, including a few that had tried it and hated it in the past. Everyone agreed that it was ambrosial. None of us were able to recapture that flavor with subsequent tins.

You just got a tin that hit you right. Perhaps it was aged or the components were a little different. Hard to say. But it does happen. No need to fret about it, as there are many, many English blends out there, and I understand Nightcap may be back in the U.S this fall.


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